The Not So Distant Stars
by Biowolf
Summary: Raven doesn't know why a certain red-haired man revived his Geno Saurer and gave it back to him. And the only way for him to find out is to ask.


Disclaimer: I don't own Zoids, but I'd really, _really_ like to own a real Blade Liger. Just because they're cool! ^_^  

Author's notes: Wow, the first Hiltz x Raven fic on fanfiction.net.  O_o  Shoot me now, please. I have no idea how I came up with this. But read it anyways.

One more thing. I remember going to a Zoids message board and seeing that someone thought that Leon could beat Van. Well that person needs to wake up and stop living in their little world where they think NCZ is better than CC/GF, because Van could wipe the floor with Leon even without Zeke. Anybody who has seen the episode "Van's New Power" would know this, because there's no way that Leon could make a Blade Liger run like that. Not that my little rant has anything to do with this fic, so I'll shut up now.

The Not-So-Distant Stars

            The black Organoid was worried about his master. Raven had been doing nothing but sitting near his recently revived Geno Saurer and staring up at the stars for most of the night. Shadow feared that Raven would forget again, like he did after Van defeated him four years ago. The Organoid let his master know about his worries with a low growl, but the human didn't seem to notice.

            Shadow, running out of his already limited options, decided to take a more forceful approach to "saving" his master. He stomped over to Raven, making as much noise as possible to let the human know he was serious. Raven didn't seem to be affected by Shadow's obvious displeasure. The Organoid growled softly, trying to get through to Raven, but received no answer. 

            The black Organoid finally gave up trying to talk to Raven and instead leaned down and nudged his master firmly with his snout. Shadow's effort seemed to work this time, as Raven blinked and turned to look at his Organoid. Since he had finally gotten his master's attention, Shadow growled out his concerns about his master's behavior. 

            Raven, of course, actually heard nothing but low growls from Shadow, but like every other Organoid and human partner, heard Shadow's thoughts in his mind and felt the feelings attached to those thoughts. After Shadow had finished, Raven closed his eyes and sighed.

            "You know exactly what I'm thinking about, Shadow."

            The black Organoid growled again.

            "But I don't understand _why_ he revived my Zoid," Raven answered, "and more importantly, why he gave it back to me instead of keeping it for himself."

            After another growl from Shadow, Raven said, "I don't know where he is, so that eliminates the option of asking him."

            Shadow shook his dragon-like head and growled, letting Raven know what he could do.

            Raven's eyes widened as he heard what his Organoid said. He paused, considering what he should do if he actually agreed to do what his Organoid suggested. He was unsure whether he should confront the man, but his desire to know the truth conquered his hesitance. Raven said, "I suppose if you really can sense where his Organoid is and take me to him, then I should go." 

            Shadow nodded and moved behind his master. Raven relaxed his body as he heard his Organoid's roar and the familiar hiss of Shadow's plates opening. Hundreds of wires shot forth from within the Organoid and enveloped Raven, pulling him back into the darkness. Shadow sealed his master within him and opened his wings, taking flight in the general direction of the red Organoid.

            It didn't take long for Shadow to reach the place, which happened to be a small base, where he sensed the red Organoid was. He slowed down, losing his energy form and becoming solid again, and flew into the base stealthily, blending into the darkness of the night perfectly.

            Shadow landed softly as to not attract the attention of any guards that could possible be in the area. He focused on trying to pinpoint the other Organoid's exact location, and discovered that he was on the second story of the building closest to him. Shadow crept forward slowly and quietly, managing to enter the building without blowing his cover.

            The black Organoid darted throughout the corridors, following the trail of the red Organoid. After almost twenty minutes and some unfortunate encounters with guards, who were now lying unconscious in closets, Shadow finally reached the door which led to the room he sensed Ambient was in. 

            Shadow called out to the other Organoid, who answered immediately, and perhaps with a little bit of hostility. After all, every Organoid was very protective of his partner. Shadow tried to calm Ambient down by explaining that Raven only wanted to ask a question, and after a little bit of arguing, Ambient finally opened the door. 

            Shadow walked into the dark room carefully, keeping an eye on Ambient, who stood near the door, watching the black Organoid. Shadow released Raven, who looked around quickly in confusion, but after a few seconds, figured out that Shadow must have brought him to where he needed to be. The two Organoids left then the room, as they had agreed to do, with Ambient shutting the door behind them.

            Raven stood in the darkness, wondering about the two Organoids' actions. He soon lost interest, though, after he heard a soft rhythmical breathing coming from a bed in the center of the room. Raven knew in an instant who was sleeping in the bed. He felt his confidence drain away, like it always did when he was near that man, but he gritted his teeth and drew upon his hatred for Van to replace his lost confidence. Once he felt sure of himself, he walked purposefully towards the bed.

            Raven thought of the best way to wake the man up. Perhaps he should just shake him awake, or maybe poke him until he woke up. Or he could jump on the bed screaming and see what would happen. Raven grinned when he thought up that last one.

            As soon as he saw the sleeping man's face, Raven felt all but one of his thoughts drift out of his head. He could only think about how peaceful Hiltz looked when he was asleep. 

            Raven stopped when he reached the side of the bed and gazed down at Hiltz. For some reason, he could not bring himself to wake the man up. Of course he wanted to have his question answered, but he couldn't make himself wake Hiltz up. 

            He didn't know why Hiltz always made him feel so…helpless all the time. It happened whenever he was around the man, and it was only him. No one else had this effect on him. The worst thing was the Raven couldn't figure out why it happened to him every time. 

            He's very pretty when he's asleep.

            Raven's eyes widened as the thought entered his mind. He immediately blocked it out, refusing to let himself think like that.

            He decided that he had waited long enough and it was time to wake Hiltz up. But as he reached down to shake the man awake, he stopped, and drew back. Raven still couldn't do it, so he just stood there watching the red-haired man.

            Hiltz rolled over in his sleep mumbling something that sounded like "ice cream". Raven struggled furiously to hold back his laughter. He found it hilarious that the red-haired man, who was such a mystery to him, enjoyed normal things such as ice cream. It was hard for Raven to believe, because he had never considered Hiltz to be a normal person. 

            But why had he never considered the red-haired man to be a normal person? Raven pondered this question for a while. Perhaps it was because Hiltz always seemed to be a few steps ahead of everyone else. He always had some sort of a plan, or an idea of what he was going to do.  Raven had a hard time predicting the man's moves. Perhaps that was why he thought of Hiltz so differently than he did of other people. He couldn't compare the red-haired man to anyone else. 

            Raven gazed down at Hiltz, just watching him sleep. He still couldn't bring himself to wake up the man, so instead settled for reaching down and touching his hair. He ran his hand through it very gently, so he wouldn't wake Hiltz up. 

            Why was it red?

            _Why do you care if it's red?_ A voice inside of Raven's head whispered.

            Because it's red.

            _So?_

            It's red. 

            Red.

            Not black like Van's.

            Red.

            Raven wondered briefly if he was going insane. 

            _Why are you thinking of Van?_

Because. He has black hair. Hiltz has red.

            _So what if Hiltz has red hair?_

            It's nice. Red suits him.

            _Why is it red?_

            It doesn't matter. It just is.

            Raven decided that he was going to have a nice, long talk to Shadow after this was all over. If he could have a conversation with himself in his head, then he clearly wasn't talking to other living beings enough. 

            Raven's hand brushed against Hiltz's forehead, and the man's eyes snapped open and focused on him. Time stood still for what seemed like an eternity when Raven met Hiltz's gaze. His heart skipped a beat and suddenly he felt a little light-headed. 

            Raven finally managed to draw his hand back, but Hiltz didn't move. He swallowed nervously, wondering what the red-haired man was thinking of this situation. Raven had not planned on getting caught and had not thought of what to say if he accidentally did.

            Finally, Hiltz sat up in his bed, still staring at Raven, keeping a straight face and not revealing what he was thinking. Raven took a step back, hoping that it would make him feel a bit more comfortable, but it didn't work. So instead, he forced himself to put a neutral expression on his face, so Hiltz couldn't guess what he was thinking.

            Then Hiltz took on a perplexed expression and asked, "What are you doing here, Raven?"

            Raven was very confused as to why Hiltz had shown no sign of aggression towards him. He had come into his room without permission, yet Hiltz didn't seem angry at all. This was all very puzzling to Raven.

            Raven realized that Hiltz was still waiting for an answer, so he said, "I wanted to ask you something."

            Hiltz studied Raven carefully, making the younger man feel quite uncomfortable, then asked, "What is it that you want to know?"

            It was obvious to Raven now. His subconscious could not deny it any longer. This red-haired man had captured his interest. Raven wanted to know so many things about him. Like why he was always so calm. How he got Ambient. Why his hair was red.

            Trying to ignore his confusion, Raven managed to ask, "Why did you revive my Geno Saurer and give it back to me?"

            Hiltz smirked, an action which caused a shiver to run down Raven's spine, and simply stated, "You'll find out soon enough."

            Raven could tell by the tone of Hiltz's voice that he was not going to elaborate on that statement. It was no use trying to get any more information out of him.

            Raven stood there just looking at Hiltz for a moment, thinking about many things. Hiltz didn't say anything for a while, but when Raven had not moved an inch, he raised an eyebrow.

            Raven saw this and smiled, which startled Hiltz, who was not expecting Raven to react in that way. While they had been staring at each other, Raven had come to terms with his thoughts and feelings and accepted the fact that he was fascinated by the red-haired man. 

            "You should look at the stars sometime, Hiltz," Raven murmured softly, turning to leave the room to find Shadow, leaving Hiltz to only wonder what Raven meant.

Author's Notes: ^_^;  Well that didn't turn out too badly, huh? Review if you want.


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